US Chief Justice John Roberts has rejected a New Mexico lawyer's long-shot bid to force a Senate confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, after Republican senators refused to act on his nomination.
Steven Michel, a Santa Fe environmental attorney, filed suit in US federal court in August, arguing that the Republican-led Senate's failure to act on Garland's nomination deprived Michel of his rights as a voter under the US Constitution's 17th Amendment, which outlines how senators are elected.
The US Constitution calls on the president to nominate Supreme Court justices, with confirmation of the selection in the hands of the Senate.
The Senate, in a move with little precedent in US history, simply refused to consider Garland's nomination, saying the winner of the November 8 presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton should make the pick.
Michel lost in lower courts before Roberts denied the emergency application on Monday without comment.
Obama nominated Garland, a moderate appeals court judge, on March 16 to fill the vacant seat on the high court created by the February 13 death of long-serving conservative Antonin Scalia.
Trump will now make the appointment.
The court currently has four conservative justices and four liberals.
Scalia's replacement could tilt its ideological balance for years to come, restoring the long-standing conservative majority just at a time when it appeared liberals would get an upper hand on the bench.
This could be pivotal in a wide range of issues including abortion, the death penalty, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, federal regulations and others.
Trump previously unveiled a list of 21 conservative jurists he would consider for the job and said this month he had whittled the list down to "probably three or four." Last week, Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said the announcement would be made close the new president's January 20 inauguration.
